"Horror" and "shock": the German press is stunned after the AfD's success in Saxony-Anhalt

PRESS REVIEW. The far-right party dominated the elections in the eastern German state on Sunday. The newspapers are shaken by the result, as no far-right party has come this close to power since 1945 Schockschwerenot. The somewhat old-fashioned German term describes a feeling combining shock (Schock), gravity (Schwere) and distress (Not). And it is with these words that the newspaper Die Zeit describes the emotion gripping it in the face of the Alternative for Germany (AfD)'s crushing victory on Sunday in the regional elections in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. The daily even chooses to split the word to highlight the affective components overwhelming it: «Schock! Schwere! Not!» With 43.8% of the vote according to the latest estimates early this morning, the party is set to win 39 seats in the state parliament, just three short of an absolute majority. No far-right party in Germany has come this close to power since 1945. In the German press, the reaction is one of stunned disbelief.